Only the Beginning
by Cherry the HedgeFox
Summary: When a hero falls, the girl he loves will do anything to bring him back...Even go into the afterlife herself....SonAmy
1. The Immortal Falls

He never saw it coming.

He had always believed that he was stronger, faster, better. That he would always be one step ahead of Eggman.  
One step ahead of Death.

He was wrong.

Knuckles had always said that he was getting too cocky, and should be more careful. Shadow had always known that his attitude would be his downfall. And, somewhere deep down, he had known that as well. He had put on the cocky grin and go easy attitude to cover his greatest fears and hide his dreams. In the eyes of the public, he was a hero, and he had let that get to him. It had made him feel powerful, stronger, braver. It had made him feel like he could escape his greatest fear. Like he could escape Death. Like he could help his friends escape Death.

But Death spares no one.

Not even heroes.

It had started like any other day. Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive, the worlds greatest hero, was taking a break from saving the world and was doing what he loved most- relaxing with his two closest friends, Tails and Amy at Tails' workshop. Nothing had happened for a while, and while Sonic loved taking time off, he was growing bored of his break, and wanted nothing more than for Eggman to attack, just to give him **something** to do.

They say you should be careful of what you wish for.

But when has Sonic ever been careful?

So, when the report came over Tails' radio, it was almost a godsend for Sonic. "This just in from Station Square- What appears to be the Egg Carrier has just appeared over the city. Various attempts to get this craft out of the air have proved futile, an-" The signal went dead. After a moment's pause, Sonic sighed and stood up, a grin on his face. The moment he had secretly been praying for had come.

"Time for me to go break Eggman again."

Tails stood up. "I'll come with you! We can take the Tornado! I just got a new engine installed an-"

"**_NO!_**"

Tails and Amy both stared at Sonic with shock. He had never been this defensive about fighting Eggman. "I want to take care of this myself, Tails. You n Amy can stay here and work with your planes, I'll be back soon, ok?" Tails merely shrugged and went back to the Tornado. Sonic knew what he was doing; he could handle himself. Amy just watched as her hero, her love, ran off to save the world again. She knew that Sonic could handle himself, but she also knew that no matter how great a hero he was, an entire battleship might be too much for him to handle alone. She knew that she was breaking his orders. And she didn't care. She loved him, and would do anything to protect him.

Amy had no idea what she was going to get herself into.

* * *

"Hey Eggman! Long time no see," Sonic said. Eggman smiled slightly. He had been fighting Sonic long enough to finally figure out how that blue hedgehog worked. He knew that Sonic would come here alone, afraid for his friends safety. But he also knew that Sonic couldn't fly, which meant that Sonic couldn't get to him. So, he simply landed the Egg Carrier, knowing that blue hedgehog would come to him, alone. And he knew that his desire to keep his friends safe, his desire to fight alone, would be his downfall.

"I've been expecting you, Sonic. In fact, I missed you so much…"he pushed a button on the ship's control panel, on the main outside deck of the Egg Carrier, and opened some doors, releasing an army or robots. They weren't very complex robots, just Egg Pawns. But there were a lot of them, and instead of being pained the typical Egg Pawn yellow and orange, they were red and black with a skull and crossbone on their chests. They were a walking symbol of death. "I got you some playthings!" Sonic grinned again, and Eggman did as well. Everything was going according to plan. Now, he just needed to wait...

"Sonic? Sooonnniiiccc!" Amy called out for her hero in vain. She had only gotten to the Egg Carrier a moment ago, due to her lack of transport. "Sonic….please be alright…." She was worried, and she needed to act fast. She only had an hour to find Sonic before Cream, who had flown her over here, came and picked her and Sonic up. That's when she heard it. An explosion. She knew that Sonic was in trouble. So she ran. She  
followed the explosions until she came to the main control room. Until she came to Sonic. "**Sonic!**"

He froze. It was Amy. Why had she followed him again? Didn't she know she was in danger? Why didn't she stay away? It didn't matter now. Sonic knew that protecting Amy was more important now than stopping Eggman. "Sonic, are you alright?" Sonic didn't say anything. He could only watch in horror as Eggman pushed a button on the control panel and ran off. That definitely wasn't a good sign. Everything that happened there seemed to move in slow motion.

The robots surrounded both Sonic and Amy.  
And one by one, each of the robots went into self-destruct.  
There was no turning back for Sonic. He stopped thinking, he stopped caring about himself. All that mattered to him was keeping her alive.  
He pushed her out of the way, and she watched in horror as a circle of robots blew up, taking Sonic with them.

* * *

They say that no good deed goes unpunished.

They also say that the ultimate punishment is death.

Therefore, the greatest good must pay the greatest price.

Sonic was hit by a blast of heat and debris from the exploding robots. As the darkness began to consume him, he felt like his soul was being eaten by the fires of hell itself. The impact of the explosion was so great that Amy, who wasn't near it, was knocked backwards and into a wall.

When the smoke cleared, Amy found him lying among the pile of scrap metal and robot parts. It pained her to look at him, knowing that he was badly injured because of her. She checked for a pulse. She found one. He was alive….but just barely. "Sonic…please….please wake up…don't leave me…."

"….Amy?" She forced back her tears and smiled a little bit.

"Sonic….I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" "heh…I'm sorry….If I had just been faster…" He was crying. That was when she knew he wasn't going to make it, and she started to cry as well.

"Sonic, please don't leave me…I need you….I love you, Sonic…please, don't die…"

_Please don't take Sonic away from me… _

Please, God….I need him…we all need him…

She knew that her pleas were useless. She knew that nothing could stop Death from taking the one she loved…..but she didn't care. "I'm sorry, Amy…..tell the others…that I'm sorry…"

They say that Death spares no one.

Not even Sonic the Hedgehog.

**They were right...**


	2. Amy's Grim Message

It was a nightmare.

Amy couldn't believe it. Or rather, she refused to believe it.

She refused to believe her hero was gone.

He was Sonic the Hedgehog, the brave, the fearless.

The immortal.

But Death does not make exceptions. In Death's eyes, hero and villain are equal- souls whose time is up. They are no longer among the living, and thus are the same.

And now Sonic the Hedgehog had joined their ranks.

It's just a dream, Amy hoped. I'm going to close my eyes, and when I open them again, I'll be back at my apartment, and he'll still be alright.

_He'll still be alive…_

She closed her eyes, clinging desperately to a lost hope. She knew Sonic was gone, but she didn't want to believe it. She opened her eyes, and she was still on the Egg Carrier, surrounded by robot debris, the body of the only man she ever loved lying next to her. She sighed. She should've been used to this by now, having somebody who cared about her die because of her. But it just hurt more each time. Sonic was really gone.

And it was all her fault.

"If I had just listened to Sonic, if I had just stayed with Tails….." But Amy couldn't think about what could have been. Sonic was dead, and nothing she could do would bring  
him back.

She had to find help. Somebody, anybody who could help her now…Station Square was a big city, there had to be somebody willing to help her. With a heavy heart, Amy picked up Sonic's body and left the Egg Carrier, hoping that somebody would be able to help her say goodbye.

* * *

He knew something was wrong. 

It was….a disturbance. A tear in the natural order of the universe. Like a light had burst, and now the world was surrounded by darkness.

He knew that Sonic the Hedgehog was dead.

Shadow the Hedgehog sighed. He had always known this day would come. Sonic had always been cocky and reckless, but he had never feared death. Shadow had always assumed that he had never feared it because he never thought he would experience it.

But Shadow knew that even stars died. Sonic had lived recklessly, and now he had paid the price.

But that wasn't what was wrong in Shadow's mind. There was another disturbance.

An endless wave of sadness that haunted the corners of his mind.

He knew people would be upset over Sonic's death, but he didn't know anybody who would mourn for the hero forever.

And then he knew. Amy. She loved Sonic, and would never be able to accept his death. He understood why, though. It had taken him over 50 years to accept Maria's death, and he still missed her.

She was coming.

She needed help.

She needed him.

* * *

"Help….please….somebody…anybody, please help me…" Amy wasn't sure how long she had been wandering the streets of Station Square for. She had been pleading for help for what seemed like hours, but there was nobody there to even give her a passing glance. She knew that it was supposed to rain today, so most people hadn't gone out. And anybody who had been out had probably ran off when the Egg Carrier showed up over the city. 

She was scared and alone, and nobody was there to help her.

It started to rain, and Amy sighed. She thought about giving up, because nobody was going to help her. She was alone, and nothing was going to change.

And then she ran into him.

"S-s-shadow!"

He looked at her. She was tired, and scared, and had clearly been crying. Then, he looked at Sonic's body. He was badly injured, but his injuries didn't appear to be serious. It didn't make any sense to Shadow. How had Sonic, the fastest thing alive, the greatest hero on the planet, died from such minor injuries?

Because he was mortal.

He had paid the price for challenging the gods.

Shadow and Amy stared at each other for a moment, silent.

"You can cry if you want, you know. You don't have to hide your feelings from me."

Amy stared at Shadow for a moment, and then, the tears she had been fighting back came out, and she cried. She cried, and she didn't care if anybody saw her. Shadow held both Amy and Sonic in his arms, and he just held her as she cried. Neither of them was how long they were there, standing in the rain. But Shadow knew that they couldn't stay like this forever.  
"Come on, Amy. We need to go and tell the others."

* * *

"This had better be important, Amy. Just think of what could be happening to the Master Emerald while I'm gone!"  
"Knucklehead, your stupid emerald will be fine for an hour. Now shut up and let Amy speak!"  
Amy smiled slightly at Rouge. "Thanks…" She gulped as she looked at her friend's happy faces, knowing that her grim message would crush them forever.  
"So, Amy, what exactly did you want to tell us?" Rouge asked. Amy sighed again. It was now or never. 

"Earlier today, the Egg Carrier was spotted over Station Square, and Sonic went to go see what Eggman was up to. He told me not to follow him….but I did."

"He's dead."

Everybody turned and stared at Shadow, who was completely emotionless despite what he had just said. Rouge, who was sitting closest to Shadow, turned and slapped him.  
"Shadow, don't talk like that! Sonic wouldn't go and get himself killed by Eggman, right Amy?"

Amy looked away. She didn't have the nerve to tell them any more.

"…Right, Amy?"

But her silence spoke more than words ever could. And, slowly, the others realized that their greatest fear, their darkest nightmare, had come true.

Sonic the Immortal had fallen.


	3. Welcome to the Afterlife

He was surrounded by darkness.

He had felt a seering pain, and was devoured by light, but now, there was nothing but cold, empty darkness.

_Where am I?_

_Am I…dead?_

"Well, duh. I don't think anybody could've survived that sort of explosion at a close range."

Sonic the Hedgehog turned to where the voice had come from, and found himself staring Death in the face.

Death was a lot….shorter than he had imagined.

She was a small white hedgehog, probably the same age as Cream, wearing a black party dress and matching shoes. She stared at him for a moment before she went back to writing something on a clipboard.

"Um….who are you?"

Without looking up, the hedgehog responded, "I'm Death, who'd you think I am?"

Sonic blinked. This girl, this KID, was supposed to be Death? One of the most feared beings on the planet?

"Ok, Sonic the Hedgehog. Age 15, death by explosion, no surviving relatives, everything checks out." The girl looked up from her clipboard and motioned to Sonic. "Well, come on. You don't want to float around here for the rest of eternity, do you?"

"Uh…Where exactly is here?"

Death sighed. They all asked the same questions, didn't they? "We're in The Void. It's a plane of existence between the worlds of the living and dead. It's the only thing separating them, and the only place with access to both, with proper transportation. I just make sure you get to the afterlife safely and don't float here forever." With that, the girl known as Death began to float away from Sonic.

So it was true.

_He was dead._

But he couldn't just move on and accept it, could he? He had so many questions. What happened to Eggman? What were his real plans? Did he plan on killing him from the start? Was Amy ok?

_Amy…_

"Well, come on! The sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can be judged."

Death's voice snapped Sonic out of his thoughts. It reminded him where he was, and for now, he was going to have to do whatever this girl told him to until he could figure out what was going on.

Wait…

What was being judged?

* * *

**_"Sonic the Hedgehog, you have been brought forth to the Afterlife Judges to determine your place in the land of the dead. How do you plead?"_**

Sonic was confused. He was in a large courtroom, facing a panel of judges so tall; he couldn't even see their faces. He didn't know what to say or do. For once, everything was moving to fast for him, and he wasn't sure what to do next.

"Uhh….not guilty? I guess?" He watched and listened as the faceless judges whispered to each other, determining his fate.

_**"Sonic. You have spent your whole life dedicated to the protection of innocent people, and you lose your life doing that. The people of earth regarded you as a hero. We've made mistakes before, however, so we need to know why. Why did you spend your life risking it for people you've never met, when you could have easily let somebody else risk their neck to save yours?"**_

Sonic sighed. This question had come up a few times when he was alive, and he still didn't know the answer. He wasn't sure what would happen if he said that, though, so he decided to answer as best as he could.

"I'm…not really sure. All my life, I've been protecting people. I just can't stand to watch Eggman or anybody else hurt innocent people. I was born with a gift, and I figured it could be used to help people. I never really thought about why I did it, but I can't stand to see people in trouble. I guess that's why I'm here in the first place….I didn't think about what I was doing, and I just rushed off because I knew Eggman was up to no good. If I had thought about what I did beforehand….maybe I'd still be alive…"

The faceless judges were silent, absorbing what Sonic had said. Then, they began to whisper for another minute as they decided Sonic's fate.

_**"Sonic the Hedgehog, we deem you worthy of entering the afterlife. You may procede."**_

Procede to where? Sonic was confused again. Where was the afterlife, and how did he get there?

But he didn't need to know how. Everything around him began to fade away, like it was melting. The cold, unfeeling courtroom where his fate had been determined was being replaced by…the Mystic Ruins?

Sonic couldn't believe it. He was in the Mystic Ruins!

He was home!

Sonic just stared in disbelief at his surroundings. This was impossible! How could he be in the Mystic Ruins if he was dead?

And then it hit him.

The Ruins were whole. It was a minor detail, but it was enough to tell him that he was not in the Mystic Ruins.

It was enough to tell him he was still dead, and he was never going to see his home again.

Sonic sighed. He had known that he was dead. But he had been clinging onto a sliver of hope, secretly praying to wake up from his nightmare and be in the hospital, Amy at his side.

He slowly wandered through the 'ruins', seeing other souls like him. They seemed….adjusted, like they had all accepted their deaths and moved on. The dead were living on as if nothing happened to them at all.

But he couldn't just….accept his death! There were still things he hadn't done yet that he'd never have the chance to do!

_He'd never be able to stop Eggman once and for all._

_He'd never be able to beat that faker Shadow in a race._

_He'd never see any of his friends again._

_He'd never be able to tell Amy that….  
_  
That he did love her, and he had only been trying to protect her. He'd never be able to tell her he was sorry, and that he wanted to be with her.

Forever.

Sonic slowly walked to the cliff where Tails' workshop would have been; absorbing everything he had seen and heard. When he reached the cliff, he sat down, and did something he hadn't done since he was five.

He cried.

All the anger and confusion and sadness he'd felt since the explosion was released, and he didn't care who saw him.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, crying and hating himself and Eggman. He probably would have stayed like that forever, until…

_**"…Shadow?"**_


	4. Maria

"_Shadow…I beg of you…please, do it for me…for all the people on that planet…" _

"Maria…Maria, what are you doing?"

"Give them a chance…to be happy…Let them live for their dreams! Shadow, I know you can do it…that's the reason…you were brought into this world…"

"Maria…..Maria, no…please don't do it!"

"I'm sorry, Shadow…I'm so, so sorry…Please, promise me this one thing…"

"Maria…"

"Shadow, please….do it for me…."

"I…I promise you…but…what's going to happen to-"

"Sayonara…Shadow…the Hedgehog…"

"MARIA!"

**BANG**

And with that, it was over.

All her hopes and dreams.

All of his hopes and dreams.

Crushed under the blow of a bullet.

But for Maria Robotnik, it hadn't been about her. It had always been about Shadow. She had always wanted to give him a chance to be happy, to give him a life away from being 'Project- SHADOW'. He had never gotten a chance to really live….and her real dream was for him to go to Earth, and have a life.

She just had always imagined going there with him.

But she had always known the differences were too great. She was a human, and he was a hedgehog. That was enough to separate them from the beginning.

However, Maria had always found a way of making hope for her and Shadow on ARK.

Hopes that had been destroyed by something as simple as a bullet.

Everything moved quickly for her after that. She had gone to The Void, met Death, been judged, and went to the afterlife. And there, she waited.

She had never planned to wait for Shadow, though. She wanted him to live his life to the fullest, and the idea of waiting for her best friend to die disturbed her. She never planned to wait for anybody in particular, but she kept waiting. But she knew that sooner or later, somebody she knew, whether it was her grandfather or one of his assistants, would have to show up, and she wouldn't be alone forever.

But nobody ever showed up.

Maria later found out that her grandfather had been executed a few years after her own death, but because of actions he did after she died, he had not been allowed access to the afterlife. She never found out what happened to his soul, but Maria was under the assumption that he had become one of the wandering dead, trapped in The Void for all eternity. For a while, she mourned for her grandfather, but eventually, she went back to waiting, this time for anybody who would give her a second glance.

Time passed. Souls came and went as they were reincarnate into the living world. And still, Maria waited. She didn't know who she was waiting for, but she knew somebody would come.

And fifty years after her death, somebody did come.

It was an ordinary day for Maria. She got up and went out, planning to go to the cliffs area and wait, as she always did. But when she got there…

Somebody very familiar to her was waiting.

From her angle, all she could see was a black hedgehog. And immediately, that clicked in her mind as her friend.

And her first love.

Both worried and overjoyed, she cautiously approached the hedgehog and said the name that had been haunting her mind for fifty years.

"…Shadow?"

* * *

At the name of his rival and friend, Sonic turned around to face a human girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue dress, a mixed look of joy and horror on her face. She was about fifteen or sixteen, and was very pretty, in Sonic's opinion. Almost instantly, the girl realized her mistake. "I…I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else." She turned to leave, but Sonic grabbed her hand and stopped her. She knew Shadow, and no matter how much he disliked that faker sometimes, anybody who had any connection to him or any of Sonic's other friends could be his ally in the afterlife.

"Excuse me, miss….but how do you know Shadow?"

Maria turned to face the blue hedgehog who was now holding her hand, concern burning in his eyes. "You know Shadow? Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Sonic nodded. He wasn't really sure who this girl was, but for now, he felt she was the only person he could trust. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Maria smiled a little bit. This blue hedgehog reminded her of Shadow when he was younger. "My name is Maria. Just Maria." She had heard of her cousin's actions in the world of the living, and she wanted to remove any ties she had to Eggman. She also noticed immediately that the blue hedgehog had been crying.

"Um….are you ok? Did something happen?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I died."

Maria blinked and looked at Sonic. She understood that death was hard on everybody, even to the point where the strongest are turned into miserable souls, mourning their demise. She knew that what he must be going through was rough, so she did the only thing she could think of.

She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, Sonic. It'll be alright."

Because you will never be alone here…


	5. Farewell Sonic, My Love, My Adversary

It was raining the day they said goodbye to Sonic.

For two days now, it had been raining nonstop. Ever since Sonic had died, it had been raining.

Some people would say it was a mere weather pattern, and that Sonic's death had no relation to it.

But Amy knew better.

She knew that the rain was Sonic. She knew that he had been crying when he died, what would be stopping him in the afterlife? He was mourning his death, and he was mourning the ones he left behind.

Thinking about Sonic and the afterlife brought tears to Amy's eyes, but she fought them back, at least for now. She had to be strong now, today more than ever.

After all, today was the day they were going to say goodbye.

* * *

"Um…we are gathered here today to say goodbye to our friend and ally, Sonic the Hedgehog." Knuckles, who had always been so strong, was barely able to fight back his sorrow as he began a eulogy for the fallen hero.

But he wasn't the only one unable to control his emotions. Tails, who had known Sonic longer than anybody else, had been his best friend, and was a complete wreck, sobbing uncontrollably like a small child. It was painful to watch the normally calm fox act like this.

Cream, who was the youngest, was crying quietly and clinging to Rouge's leg. Rouge, who was trying to comfort the young girl, was not much better than her, and she, like Tails and Cream, was crying. Just because Rouge and Sonic hadn't always seen eye to eye, it didn't mean she had wanted him to die.

Shadow remained emotionless. He didn't appear to be either sad or happy about the death of his rival, and Amy wondered, what was he thinking? Was he glad Sonic was gone, or did he miss him just like everybody else?

She probably would have kept wondering about Shadow's feelings, but Knuckles' worlds brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Before we begin…Would anybody like to say a few words?"

For a moment, everybody was silent. They all wanted to say something, how much they missed Sonic, how much they had all cared, and how they all still needed him. But for all of them, how they had felt about Sonic was beyond words. He had been more than a friend and an ally. He had been more than a hero.

He had been more than a god.

After a long pause, Amy stepped forward. She knew she had to be strong now. It was her last chance to tell Sonic he was her friend, and she was sorry, and that she would always love him, no matter how many years go by.

She sighed, and then began to speak.

"Sonic…he was my hero. For the longest time, I just stayed at my home on the Little Planet and worshipped him from afar. And then…I met him…and he was so different from all the stories I'd ever heard. He was brave, and dashing, and he wouldn't stay still for more than five minutes, especially when there were people in trouble. He was a hero in every sense of the word, and I loved him. I always chased him around and made silly, childish demands of marriage, but I honestly and truly did love him. I don't know how he felt about me, and I guess I'll never know now…" She gulped. "I was with him when he died…and he died the way he lived."

She did not mention any of the details about his death, nor did she mention whose fault it was. She had said all that she had felt about Sonic, and as she stepped back, other came forth and told their stories. How they had met Sonic, how they felt about him, and how much they would miss him.

All of them, that is, except Shadow.

Knuckles looked around at the faces of Sonic's friends and allies as he prepared to begin the actual funeral. "Does anybody else have anything they would like to say?"

There was silence.

"Then let us begin."

"Sonic the Hedgehog. He was a hero, an enemy, a rival, and a friend. Many knew of him, and the few who knew him knew the true meaning of the word friend. He was loyal, caring, and a pain in the butt at times. But he never gave up on his friends or his enemies, and he always believed that there was good in everybody, no matter how evil they could act. I met Sonic when Eggman tricked me for the first time, and even though I had been willing to kill him then, he didn't believe I was evil, and he didn't give up on me. He felt that way about everybody, which is why he couldn't stand to see people being hurt. That is why he was a hero, and that is why he was our friend. And, sadly, that is why he died. He failed to see what was laid out before him, and his belief that there was good in all was part of his demise. He was greatly loved, and will also be greatly missed. May his soul continue to run in the afterlife."

It was at this time that Shadow, who had disappeared during Knuckle's eulogy, reappeared, carrying what appeared on the outside to be just a simple wooden coffin.

In reality, he was carrying the fallen god, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Without showing any emotions, he walked past Sonic's friends and gently placed the coffin carrying his remains in the grave that he and Knuckles had dug the day before. Then, still emotionless, he began to fill in Sonic's grave.

Amy didn't know if it was her imagination or not, but it seemed as with each shovel of dirt, the rain came down a little harder, and she even swore she heard thunder in the distance.

And soon, it was over. Everybody had stayed for a moment, simply looking at Sonic's tombstone, and observing one final moment of silence for the fallen hero. And then, they were gone.

Amy lingered on for a moment longer, though. She was just staring, absorbing the message on Sonic's tomb.

_Sonic the Hedgehog.  
Friend.  
Ally.  
Hero._

She was preparing to leave when she heard a voice behind her.

"I guess it's so long, faker."

Amy turned to face Shadow. His face was still blank and expressionless. They stared at each other for a moment, before he turned and walked away.

"Sayonara, Sonic the ultimate lifeform. I was wrong about you."

Amy watched the black hedgehog walk away into the rain.

_I guess he really does miss Sonic after all…_

She turned to face Sonic's grave one last time. Slowly, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a torn, faded, ancient tarot card. To anybody else, it was just a piece of paper that should have been thrown out a long time ago, but to her…

This was the tarot card that had predicted her first meeting with Sonic.

Gently, she placed the card on Sonic's grave, and turned to walk away.

_Farewell Sonic, my love…  
_

* * *

"Egg Pawns, guard the area and keep watch. Anybody suspicious, like that knucklehead or the fox, or any other of Sonic's friends, stun them, but don't kill them."

"YES DOCTOR."

Doctor Ivo Robotnik, also known to his late adversary as Dr. Eggman, approached the last resting place of Sonic the Hedgehog and sighed.

"Well Sonic, it's come to this. Ever since we met, I've dreamed of this moment. The day that you finally bought the farm was supposed to be a glorious day for me. It was supposed to be everything I ever wanted. But it isn't. You foiled every plan I ever made, and yet…I suppose that I respected you, as a rival. Now you're gone. What's the point of trying to conquer the world if you're not going to be there to stop me?"

The doctor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a very old gold ring, its glow long since gone.

"You always did miss at least one of these…"

He placed it next to Amy's tarot card, and stared at the simple grave for a moment.

His rival and enemy was dead, and it was because of him.

"Come on Egg Pawns. We have to prepare for whatever Tails and his friends might have planned."

He looked at the grave one last time, and with his army of robots, he walked away from Sonic forever.

_Farewell Sonic, my adversary…_


	6. The Girl Who Challenged the Gods

There was once an old saying. A simple phrase, but many believed that it was true. In days of war and death, in times of pain and sorrow, these simple words would bring people back to reality.

_Time heals all wounds._

A simple phrase that bound people to the realities of loss, and that with time, your pain will simply disappear.

To the rest of the world, those words were true.

For weeks, the world mourned for the loss of its greatest hero. They had always thought of him as being above death, like a god.

To the people of earth, Sonic had been their heart, and now…

It was if the world had screeched to a stop.

Memorials were built, ceremonies were held, and he received honors he would have never gotten had he not died.

And as time went on, the pain and scars of his demise began to heal over.

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, and time began to work its magic.

The world sped up to a pace that Sonic could never have kept up with. It simply picked off where it had left off and continued to walk forward. Sonic, who had once been a household name, was spoken of less and less, and soon he was nothing more than a memory. Had it not been for the memorials, the people of the world would have forgotten about their fallen hero entirely.

Time had helped heal the scars and wounds of the world.

But it had not helped heal the wounds of Amy Rose.

* * *

"…_.Amy?"_

"_Sonic….I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"_

"_heh…I'm sorry….If I had just been faster…" _

"_Sonic, please don't leave me…I need you….I love you, Sonic…please, don't die…"_

"_I'm sorry, Amy…..tell the others…that I'm sorry…"_

"_SONIC!"_

Amy awoke with a start, covered in sweat.

_The same dream again…_

The same nightmare that played over and over again, haunting Amy's sleep constantly. After a moment of shock, she sighed and got out of bed. After having the same dream over and over again, she had learned tactics to calm her down. She slowly walked towards her window and just stared into space. She sighed again, the sorrow she felt incredibly obvious.

_Sonic…_

It had been about six, maybe seven months now, since Sonic had died. Maybe it hadn't really been so long ago, but it felt like forever, and Amy had lost track of the passage of time. How long had it really been since she had last seen Sonic smile? When was the last time she had heard him laugh, or say something smug and cocky? She had lost count a long time ago.

She had seen a world changed by him. Amy had watched as the planet broke from its lost core, and she had watched it rebuild. The world was different now. It was tougher, darker, colder, and less open then it had been six months ago.

And she had watched herself change when she lost her core. The Amy Rose that had been the friend of Sonic, the enemy of Eggman, and the ally of so many others, was gone.

She had died six months ago in an explosion on the Egg Carrier, just outside of Station

Square.

The new Amy was much like the world that had risen from the ashes of it's fallen god. She was cold, uncaring, and cut off from everybody that she had once cared for. She rarely left her apartment and didn't communicate with anybody from the old days. Amy now spent her time reading books filled with her childhood memories, and staring into the vast emptiness of space where her love now resided. This was how she lived, day in and day out, simply waiting for time to take its toll.

She spent her days just waiting for her body to catch up to her soul and die.

Amy gazed listlessly out of her window into the dark depths of space, where the only bright light she could see came from the moon. A once whole and shining gem in the sky that secretly guiding and protecting the planet. The moon had been the keeper of the earth.

How had the moon been rewarded for its endless years of service?

It became the victim of an unspeakable disaster, and now all that was left was a battered and broken hunk of rock, ominously looming over an equally broken planet, casting an endless shadow of darkness onto the world.

This is what Amy has come to believe about the moon, and it is also what she believes about Sonic. A bright hero that had protected the planet for years, only to fall to tragedy, unknowingly taking the whole world down with him. She sighed once more as she gazed into the lifeless protector, and as she stared into the sky, Amy came to only one conclusion.

His life had been too short.

And indeed, too fast.

Amy looked at the moon one last time before returning to her bed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep now, she had been thinking too hard. As she crawled back into bed, she reached for an old, large, and rather worn looking book that had been resting on her nightstand.

_Fairy Tales of the Little Planet_

When she had been little, Amy's father had read to her every night from this book, and just holding it brought back fond memories of her lost past. Despite the fact that he had always read to her, Amy's father had never told her every single story. There were stories in here that were inappropriate for a little kid, so he had skipped over them. After her father died, Amy had hidden the book, to avoid the then painful memories it gave her.

But now, Sonic was dead. Escaping to the memories of her past was the only way to avoid the pain she was feeling now.

Listlessly, Amy flipped through the book, looking for a story that sounded new or interesting. After a minute, she found one, near that back of the book. A story with a title she had never heard. Curious, she decided that this would be the tale she would escape into tonight. And slowly, Amy began to read...

_**The Girl who Challenged the Gods**_

_Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived on the Little Planet with her mother, father and older brother. She loved her family very much, and if anything ever happened to them, she became sad, and would lock herself in her room for days. So, when her brother became sick, and eventually died, many people became worried about her. But instead of becoming depressed, the girl left her home and went on a journey across the Little Planet, searching for a legendary temple on the top of Mt. Itanichi, or Eternity Mountain, a holy place rumored to guard the entrance to the afterlife. She did what no other before her did, and challenged the temple guardians, who finally let her into the afterlife. She saw her brother once more, but was supposed to leave his soul. But, in an act of defiance, she smuggled her brother out of the afterlife. She thought she had gotten aw…_

Without finishing the story, Amy slowly closed the book. Was it possible? Was there really a place where you could enter the afterlife? She felt a sudden burst of hope, only to realize…

The Little Planet worked on a different rotation cycle than the Earth. The chances of her actually ending up there were slim. Her hopes should have died right then and there, but…

And then, it hit her.

Rouge had once said, "_When all seven Chaos Emeralds are gathered, a miracle occurs…_." If Amy gathered all seven Emeralds, could she, at the very least, see Sonic in the afterlife?

Her hopes rose once more, only for her to realize that it was impossible to get to the afterlife. It was another dimension, right? How could you…

_Chaos Control…_

It was coming together. Amy's plan to her hero was slowly being pieced together in her mind. She knew that she was going to see him again…

_**She was going to bring him back…**_

And as her head hit the pillow for the second time that night, her dreams were of a small, green planet, a fashion challenged pink hedgehog, and her colbalt hero protecting her for the first time.


End file.
